FIND NO TRACE OF PRISONERS WHO FLED CAMP

Prisoners at the camp caused a minor "strike" on
Wednesday and were placed on a "bread and water" diet.
Quantities of food were taken to the Gettysburg Ice and
Storage for preservation during the disturbance.

Captain Laurence Thomas, camp commander, declined to
comment or make a statement this afternoon other than
"everything is under control now and all the men are back at
work."

When asked if the prisoners had been placed on a "bread
and water" diet Captain Thomas said: "Now, you are putting me
on the spot. All I can say is that everything is under control
now and all the men are back at work."

The nature of the disturbance was not disclosed.

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Thomas Kostaniak, 27, and Axel Ostermaler, 22, who once
fought for Hitler, were captured, removed to this country and
then transferred to a war prisoner' camp at the outskirts of
Gettysburg are still at large after escaping from the camp
stockade sometime after last Monday morning.

The object of a two-state manhunt under the direction of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted by State and
local police, the two fugitives have eluded capture. No
tangible clues as to their whereabouts have been uncovered or
reported.

Escape Detection

As mysteriously as they have disappeared the two former
German Army infantry sergeants have managed to escape
detection despite the fact that they are unable to speak
English and are wearing blue denims, shirt and pants, with the
initials P W painted on the back of the shirts and the seat of
the pants, unless they have been outfitted with other civilian
attire.

Believed to be without money, or with a very small
amount, the two young fugitives apparently are subsisting on
the land. They may resort to stealing food although most
police believe that they would not have much difficulty
surviving on the fruit crop if they are within the area of
orchards. Other garden vegetables are also available to them.

Discount Rumor

Not a trace as to the direction they took after leaping
the wire fence surrounding their camp has been found. No one
has reported that they actually saw the prisoners after they
fled the stockade.

Camp officials had previously reported that the two men
were in their bed at midnight Sunday, when a check of the
prisoners was made by the camp guards.

A report that gained wide circulation in town today was
to the effect that the prisoners had been shot and killed and
that this information is being withheld by the police.

The rumor was discounted by the FBI office in
Philadelphia from where the search is being directed. The FBI
told the Gettysburg Times at noon today that there were no new
developments in the case, and that the hunt was being
relentlessly conducted over a wide area.

No New Developments

The FBI would not reveal the nature, if any, of any new
clues received during the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, at the local camp, it was officially reported
that guards had been increased about the stockade as well as
on the trucks that carry the prisoners to and from canning
plants in the county, where they are employed.

State police this morning investigated without success a
report telephoned them Wednesday by Robert Deardorff of
Orrtanna that a neighbor, Mrs. Clarence Mickley, had been
asked for food by a youthful stranger dressed in blue whose
speech could not be understood. He walked along the road
leading to Knoxlyn, the report stated.